Sir, - The excellent article by Emer McNamara (July 5th) on plans to crack down on alternative therapy products, serves to highlight the dangers of excessive regulation.
The philosophy behind most alternative health products is quite different from the one generally associated with the Irish Medicines Board. Alternative health products normally work to boost the immune system rather than to attack the symptoms of a problem. Echinacea, for example, provides a real alternative to antibiotics but because it boosts the immune system it does not provide a breeding ground for superbugs. To withdraw it from the market for reasons other than safety is in itself a potentially dangerous act.
There is more than a whiff of vested interest in the air in relation to this initiative. It is generally recognised that competition is beneficial to the consumer and when alternatives are taken off the market or taken under the control of bodies opposed to them, it is time for consumers to stand tough. - Yours, etc., Niall O'Brolchain,
Taylors Hill, Galway.